TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday (Aug. 21) congratulated Guatemalan president-elect Bernardo Arevalo on his electoral victory.

Speaking on behalf of Tsai, the Presidential Office said it hopes the friendship and cooperation between Taiwan and Guatemala will continue to deepen and that the country will thrive under Arevalo.

Arevalo, from the Movimiento Semilla party, beat former first lady Sandra Torres, receiving 58% of the vote. His victory comes as a relief for Taipei, as he has pledged to maintain diplomatic ties.

He previously said that there have already been conversations between his party and the Tsai government on how to “harness” Taiwan’s cooperation for his development plans.

However, he has publicized his intentions to deepen relations with China, especially in trade. Continuing ties to Taiwan and seeking to improve trade relations with China were “completely compatible," he said.

In an interview in April tweeted by Publinews Guatemala, Arevalo compared the two Asian countries to trains. There is no need to jump back and forth between those trains, he said, but only to safeguard national interests and sovereignty, and to evaluate what is best for Guatemala.

Arevalo, the son of Guatemala’s first democratically elected president, centered his campaign on fighting against corruption and authoritarianism.

The Republic of China and Guatemala established diplomatic ties in 1933.